Social namespace addressing for non-unique identifiers

ABSTRACT

A device, system, and method are directed towards enabling a user to disambiguate an identity of a member included in a user&#39;s social network (USN), and towards enabling an operation to be performed based on information about the member. The USN is determined. The NID of the member is received. If the NID is non-unique within the USN, member distinctions are determined for members in the USN who are associated with the same NID. The member distinctions are sent to the user. The user makes a selection of one of the members associated with one of the member distinctions. Based on the selection, information about the selected member is received. The operation is enabled to be performed based on the information about the selected member. The operation may include addressing the selected member, enabling a communication between the user and the selected member, or the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This utility patent application is a Continuation of allowed U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/555,247 filed on Oct. 31, 2006, the benefits ofwhich are claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120, and further incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to mobile communications and,more particularly, but not exclusively to enabling a communication basedon a non-unique identifier associated with a user within a socialnetwork.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tremendous changes have been occurring in the Internet that influenceour everyday lives. For example, online social networks have become thenew meeting grounds. They have been called the new power lunch tablesand new golf courses for business life in the U.S. Moreover, many peopleare using such online social networks to reconnect themselves to theirfriends, their neighborhood, their community, and to otherwise stay intouch.

The development of such online social networks touch countless aspectsof our everyday lives, providing instant access to people of similarmindsets, and enabling us to form partnerships with more people in moreways than ever before.

One aspect of our everyday lives that may benefit from online socialnetworking technology involves the aspect that social gatherings mayoften occur in a less than organized, impromptu fashion. For example,people may decide, online to get together at some restaurant, club, orthe like, almost immediately. Users may meet each other at such socialgatherings and may further wish to interact with each other. However, auser may not know or remember how to contact the other person. Thus, itis with respect to these considerations and others that the presentinvention has been made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the following drawings. In the drawings,like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the variousfigures unless otherwise specified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will bemade to the following Detailed Description, which is to be read inassociation with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of one embodiment of an environment in whichthe invention may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of a mobile device that may be included in asystem implementing the invention;

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a network device that may be included ina system implementing the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for determining a user associated with anamespace ID;

FIG. 5A illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for determining characteristics of an event andfor determining a social network of a member associated with the event;

FIG. 5B illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for determining member distinctions for membersassociated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of a use case illustrating enabling anoperation to be performed on, with, or to a member of a social networkassociated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of another use case illustrating enabling anoperation to be performed on, with, or to a member of a social networkassociated with a namespace ID;

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of a user interface for identifying usersassociated with namespace IDs;

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing andsharing media between users associated with namespace IDs; and

FIG. 10 shows one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing mediashared by users associated with namespace IDs, in accordance with thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments by which theinvention may be practiced. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Amongother things, the present invention may be embodied as methods ordevices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The followingdetailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take themeanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein doesnot necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may.Furthermore, the phrase “in another embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it may. Thus, asdescribed below, various embodiments of the invention may be readilycombined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

In addition, as used herein, the term “or” is an inclusive “or”operator, and is equivalent to the term “and/or,” unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. The term “based on” is not exclusive andallows for being based on additional factors not described, unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, throughout thespecification, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include pluralreferences. The meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”

As used herein, the terms “social network” and “social community” referto a concept that an individual's personal network of friends, familycolleagues, coworkers, and the subsequent connections within thosenetworks, can be utilized to find more relevant connections for avariety of activities, including, but not limited to dating, jobnetworking, service referrals, content sharing, like-minded individuals,activity partners, or the like. Such social network may be created basedon a variety of criteria, including, for example, a social event, suchas a party, meeting event, or the like.

As used herein, the term “event” refers to any social gathering ofpeople, having a start time and an end time. In one embodiment, thestart, and/or end times may be loosely established, in that they mayoccur informally, such as might arise based on an informal gathering ofpeople. In another embodiment, the event may have established startand/or end times. Moreover, in one embodiment, the event may havemultiple start/end times, such as might occur with a regularly scheduledmeeting, or the like.

As used herein, the term “media content” refers to any digital datadirected towards a user of a computing device, including, but notlimited to audio data, multimedia data, photographs, video data, stillimages, text, graphics, animation files, voice messages, text messages,or the like.

As used herein, the terms “ID” or “user ID” refers to an identifier fora user. The identifier may include any text or multimedia contentuseable in identifying a user, including an alphanumeric string,picture, sound, movie clip, or the like. The term “namespace ID (NID)”refers to a user identifier (ID) that may be non-unique. That is, an NIDmay be associated with more than one user. For example, “John” mayrepresent an NID that may be associated with a plurality of users.

As used herein, the term “member” refers to a user who is included in agrouping, such as a social network, a group, or the like. As usedherein, the term “member distinction” refers to information used todistinguish members in a grouping. As used herein, the term “group”refers to a grouping of members. A group may be unassociated orassociated with an event (including a permanent, recurring or temporaryevent).

As used herein, the term “addressing” refers to any form of contact witha member, including communicating with a member, sending a group message(e.g. message board, server list), wherein the member may be at leastone of recipient of the group message, sending a message directly to themember (e.g. via SMS, IM, email), or otherwise providing information tothe member, or the like.

Briefly stated the present invention is directed towards enabling a userto disambiguate an identity of a member included in a user's socialnetwork (USN), and towards enabling an operation to be performed basedon information about the member.

The USN is determined. In one embodiment, the USN is determined based ona relationship of the members in a group associated with an event. Inone embodiment, the event includes the user.

The NID of the member is received. If the NID is non-unique within theUSN, member distinctions are determined for a plurality of members inthe USN who are associated with the NID. In one embodiment, the memberdistinctions are determined based in part on event characteristics. Themember distinctions may include a time of last contact, an amount ofcommunication, a common friend, identification information of aparticular member, a characteristic of a previous event including theuser and a particular member, or the like.

The member distinctions are sent to the user. The user makes a selectionof one of the members associated with one of the member distinctions.Based on the selection, information about the selected member isreceived by a server. The operation is enabled to be performed based onthe information about the member from the selection. The operation mayinclude addressing the selected member, enabling a communication betweenthe user and the selected member, or the like.

Illustrative Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows components of one embodiment of an environment in which theinvention may be practiced. Not all the components may be required topractice the invention, and variations in the arrangement and type ofthe components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. As shown, system 100 of FIG. 1 includes local areanetworks (“LANs”)/wide area networks (“WANs”)—(network) 105, wirelessnetwork 110, Event/Namespace Server (ENS) 106, mobile devices (clientdevices) 102-104, and client device 101.

One embodiment of mobile devices 102-104 is described in more detailbelow in conjunction with FIG. 2. Generally, however, mobile devices102-104 may include virtually any portable computing device capable ofreceiving and sending a message over a network, such as network 105,wireless network 110, or the like. Mobile devices 102-104 may also bedescribed generally as client devices that are configured to beportable. Thus, mobile devices 102-104 may include virtually anyportable computing device capable of connecting to another computingdevice and receiving information. Such devices include portable devicessuch as, cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, radiofrequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR) devices, Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptop computers, wearablecomputers, tablet computers, integrated devices combining one or more ofthe preceding devices, and the like. As such, mobile devices 102-104typically range widely in terms of capabilities and features. Forexample, a cell phone may have a numeric keypad and a few lines ofmonochrome LCD display on which only text may be displayed. In anotherexample, a web-enabled mobile device may have a touch sensitive screen,a stylus, and several lines of color LCD display in which both text andgraphics may be displayed.

A web-enabled mobile device may include a browser application that isconfigured to receive and to send web pages, web-based messages, and thelike. The browser application may be configured to receive and displaygraphics, text, multimedia, and the like, employing virtually any webbased language, including a wireless application protocol messages(WAP), and the like. In one embodiment, the browser application isenabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), WirelessMarkup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, Standard GeneralizedMarkup Language (SMGL), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), eXtensibleMarkup Language (XML), and the like, to display and send a message.

Mobile devices 102-104 also may include at least one other clientapplication that is configured to receive content from another computingdevice. The client application may include a capability to provide andreceive textual content, media content, and the like. The clientapplication may further provide information that identifies itself,including a type, capability, name, and the like. In one embodiment,mobile devices 102-104 may uniquely identify themselves through any of avariety of mechanisms, including a phone number, Mobile IdentificationNumber (MIN), an electronic serial number (ESN), or other mobile deviceidentifier. The information may also indicate a content format that themobile device is enabled to employ. Such information may be provided ina message, or the like, sent to ENS 106, client device 101, or othercomputing devices.

Mobile devices 102-104 may also be configured to communicate a message,such as through Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service(MMS), instant messaging (IM), internet relay chat (IRC), Mardam-Bey'sIRC (mIRC), Jabber, and the like, between another computing device, suchas ENS 106, client device 101, each other, or the like. However, thepresent invention is not limited to these message protocols, andvirtually any other message protocol may be employed. For example, theclient application may enable a user to interact with the browserapplication, email application, VOIP applications, or the like.

Mobile devices 102-104 may further be configured to include a clientapplication that enables the end-user to log into an end-user accountthat may be managed by another computing device, such as ENS 106. Suchend-user account, for example, may be configured to enable the end-userto receive emails, send/receive IM messages, SMS messages, accessselected web pages, participate in a social networking event, or thelike. However, participation in various social networking events mayalso be performed without logging into the end-user account.

In addition, mobile devices 102-104 may include another application thatis configured to enable the mobile user to share and/or receive mediacontent, and to display the media content. In one embodiment, each ofmobile devices 102-104 may share with and/or receive the media contentfrom ENS 106 and/or from another one of mobile devices 102-104. Forexample, media content may be shared between the mobile devices usingMMS, WAP, or the like. In one embodiment, a mobile device may receive amessage indicating the media content is available for viewing and/orannotating at a website, or the like.

In conjunction with sharing media content, mobile devices 102-104 mayenable an interaction with each other, through sharing various messages,and generally participating in a variety of integrated socialexperiences beyond merely voice communications. In one embodiment,mobile devices 102-104 may enable the interaction with a user associatedwith an event. For example, a user of one of mobile devices 102-104 maycreate a group that includes identified members, and send a message tothe members regarding the event. In one embodiment, members of the groupmay then elect to share media content, such as photographs, video clips,audio clips, text messages, emails, or the like, with other members ofthe group. Moreover, mobile devices 102-104 may enable any of themembers of the group to also add other members to the group.

A user's social network may be determined based on the user's creationand/or membership in the group and other users' membership in the group.In one embodiment, the user may further interact with a member of theuser's social network who is associated with a namespace ID. FIGS. 6-7below include one embodiment of examples of a group creation, andenabling an interaction between the user and a member associated with anamespace ID. In one embodiment, the interaction may be an SMS, email,or IM communication between one of mobile devices 102-104 and anotherdevice over network 110 and network 105.

Mobile devices 102-104 may also communicate with non-mobile clientdevices, such as client device 101, or the like. In one embodiment, suchcommunications may include providing information about the shared mediato a user of client device 101, or the like.

Client device 101 may include virtually any computing device capable ofcommunicating over a network to send and receive information, includingsocial networking information, or the like. One embodiment of clientdevice 101 is described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 2.Generally however, the set of such devices may include devices thattypically connect using a wired or wireless communications medium suchas personal computers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCs, or the like. In oneembodiment, client device 101 may be configured to access a website, orother location, of shared media content, and to annotate the mediacontent, add additional media content, or the like. Similar to mobiledevices 102-104, client device 101 may be configured to allow a user tointeract with a member of the user's social network by using a namespaceID.

Wireless network 110 is configured to couple mobile devices 102-104 andits components with network 105. Wireless network 110 may include any ofa variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alonead-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an infrastructure-orientedconnection for mobile devices 102-104. Such sub-networks may includemesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, and thelike.

Wireless network 110 may further include an autonomous system ofterminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by wireless radiolinks, and the like. These connectors may be configured to move freelyand randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topologyof wireless network 110 may change rapidly.

Wireless network 110 may further employ a plurality of accesstechnologies including 2nd (2G), 3rd (3G) generation radio access forcellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, and the like. Accesstechnologies such as 2G, 3G, and future access networks may enable widearea coverage for mobile devices, such as mobile devices 102-104 withvarious degrees of mobility. For example, wireless network 110 mayenable a radio connection through a radio network access such as GlobalSystem for Mobile communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Services(GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Wideband Code DivisionMultiple Access (WCDMA), and the like. In essence, wireless network 110may include virtually any wireless communication mechanism by whichinformation may travel between mobile device s 102-104 and anothercomputing device, network, and the like.

Network 105 is configured to couple ENS 106 and its components withother computing devices, including, mobile devices 102-104, clientdevice 101, and through wireless network 110 to mobile devices 102-104.Network 105 is enabled to employ any form of computer readable media forcommunicating information from one electronic device to another. Also,network 105 can include the Internet in addition to local area networks(LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through auniversal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media,or any combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, includingthose based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts as alink between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another.Also, communication links within LANs typically include twisted wirepair or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks mayutilize analog telephone lines, full or fractional dedicated digitallines including T1, T2, T3, and T4, Integrated Services Digital Networks(ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), wireless links includingsatellite links, or other communications links known to those skilled inthe art. Furthermore, remote computers and other related electronicdevices could be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modemand temporary telephone link. In essence, network 105 includes anycommunication method by which information may travel between ENS 106,client device 101, and other computing devices.

Additionally, communication media typically embodies computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave, data signal, or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterms “modulated data signal,” and “carrier-wave signal” includes asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information, instructions, data, and thelike, in the signal. By way of example, communication media includeswired media such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, waveguides, and other wired media and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared, and other wireless media.

One embodiment of ENS 106 is described in more detail below inconjunction with FIG. 3. Briefly, however, ENS 106 may include anycomputing device capable of connecting to network 105 to enabledetermination (e.g. creation and/or modification) of a user's socialnetwork based on event characteristics.

ENS 106 may be configured to create an event group and to share mediacontent with the members of the group. ENS 106 may receive from variousparticipants in the event, media content, and other social networkinginformation, including information associated with event, messages, orthe like. ENS 106 may then employ any of a variety of communicationservices to enable the messages to be shared between the members of thegroup. Moreover, ENS 106 may enable a website or other location forstorage and access of at least some of the shared messages. ENS 106further enables members of the group to add more members to the group,even if the member adding is not the original creator of the group.

ENS 106 may also enable a user to interact with a member of the user'ssocial network based on a namespace ID. ENS 106 may be configured todetermine a plurality of member distinctions for members with a samenamespace ID. In one embodiment, the member distinctions may includecharacteristics of an event, such as an event's time, location, or thelike. The member distinctions enable a user to disambiguating theappropriate member associated with the namespace ID. ENS 106 maycommunicate this plurality of member distinctions to a device, includingone of mobile devices 102-104 and/or client device 101 over network 105and/or network 110 for a user of the device to enable a selection oflist of members associated with the same namespace ID.

Moreover, ENS 106 may enable an interaction between devices used by theuser and the disambiguated member, over network 105 and/or network 110.For example, ENS 106 may act as a messaging server to relay messagesbetween the devices. ENS 106 may employ a process similar to thatdescribed below in conjunction with FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B to perform atleast some of its actions.

Devices that may operate as ENS 106 include personal computers desktopcomputers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, servers, and the like.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates ENS 106 as a single computing device, theinvention is not so limited. For example, one or more functions of ENS106 may be distributed across one or more distinct computing devices.For example, determining member distinctions, managing the mapping of auser/member to a namespace ID, managing various social networkingevents, including sharing of media content, managing Instant Messaging(IM) session, SMS messages, email messages, posting of media content,determining implicit information such as start/end times, locations, orthe like for an event, may be performed by a plurality of computingdevices, without departing from the scope or spirit of the presentinvention.

Illustrative Client Environment

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of client device 200 that may be included ina system implementing the invention. Client device 200 may include manymore or less components than those shown in FIG. 2. However, thecomponents shown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodimentfor practicing the present invention. Client device 200 may represent,for example, mobile devices 102-104 of FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, client device 200 includes a processing unit(CPU) 222 in communication with a mass memory 230 via a bus 224. Clientdevice 200 also includes a power supply 226, one or more networkinterfaces 250, an audio interface 252, video interface 259, a display254, a keypad 256, an illuminator 258, an input/output interface 260, ahaptic interface 262, and an optional global positioning systems (GPS)receiver 264. Power supply 226 provides power to mobile device 200. Arechargeable or non-rechargeable battery may be used to provide power.The power may also be provided by an external power source, such as anAC adapter or a powered docking cradle that supplements and/or rechargesa battery.

Client device 200 may optionally communicate with a base station (notshown), or directly with another computing device. Network interface 250includes circuitry for coupling client device 200 to one or morenetworks, and is constructed for use with one or more communicationprotocols and technologies including, but not limited to, global systemfor mobile communication (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), user datagram protocol (UDP),transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), SMS, generalpacket radio service (GPRS), WAP, ultra wide band (UWB), IEEE 802.16Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), SIP/RTP, or anyof a variety of other wireless communication protocols. Networkinterface 250 is sometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving device,or network interface card (NIC).

Audio interface 252 is arranged to produce and receive audio signalssuch as the sound of a human voice. For example, audio interface 252 maybe coupled to a speaker and microphone (not shown) to enabletelecommunication with others and/or generate an audio acknowledgementfor some action. Display 254 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gasplasma, light emitting diode (LED), or any other type of display usedwith a computing device. Display 254 may also include a touch sensitivescreen arranged to receive input from an object such as a stylus or adigit from a human hand.

Video interface 259 is arranged to capture video images, such as a stillphoto, a video segment, an infrared video, or the like. For example,video interface 259 may be coupled to a digital video camera, aweb-camera, or the like. Video interface 259 may comprise a lens, animage sensor, and other electronics. Image sensors may include acomplementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit,charge-coupled device (CCD), or any other integrated circuit for sensinglight.

Keypad 256 may comprise any input device arranged to receive input froma user. For example, keypad 256 may include a push button numeric dial,or a keyboard. Keypad 256 may also include command buttons that areassociated with selecting and sending images. Illuminator 258 mayprovide a status indication and/or provide light. Illuminator 258 mayremain active for specific periods of time or in response to events. Forexample, when illuminator 258 is active, it may backlight the buttons onkeypad 256 and stay on while the client device is powered. Also,illuminator 258 may backlight these buttons in various patterns whenparticular actions are performed, such as dialing another client device.Illuminator 258 may also cause light sources positioned within atransparent or translucent case of the client device to illuminate inresponse to actions.

Client device 200 also comprises input/output interface 260 forcommunicating with external devices, such as a headset, or other inputor output devices not shown in FIG. 2. Input/output interface 260 canutilize one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared,Bluetooth™, or the like. Haptic interface 262 is arranged to providetactile feedback to a user of the client device. For example, the hapticinterface may be employed to vibrate client device 200 in a particularway when another user of a computing device is calling.

Optional GPS transceiver 264 can determine the physical coordinates ofclient device 200 on the surface of the Earth, which typically outputs alocation as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 264 can alsoemploy other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to,triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or thelike, to further determine the physical location of client device 200 onthe surface of the Earth. It is understood that under differentconditions, GPS transceiver 264 can determine a physical location withinmillimeters for mobile device 200; and in other cases, the determinedphysical location may be less precise, such as within a meter orsignificantly greater distances. In one embodiment, however, mobiledevice may through other components, provide other information that maybe employed to determine a physical location of the device, includingfor example, a MAC address, IP address, or the like.

Mass memory 230 includes a RAM 232, a ROM 234, and other storage means.Mass memory 230 illustrates another example of computer storage mediafor storage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Mass memory 230 stores abasic input/output system (“BIOS”) 240 for controlling low-leveloperation of mobile device 200. The mass memory also stores an operatingsystem 241 for controlling the operation of mobile device 200. It willbe appreciated that this component may include a general purposeoperating system such as a version of UNIX, or LINUX™, or a specializedclient communication operating system such as Windows Mobile™, or theSymbian® operating system. The operating system may include, orinterface with a Java virtual machine module that enables control ofhardware components and/or operating system operations via Javaapplication programs.

Memory 230 further includes one or more data storage 244, which can beutilized by client device 200 to store, among other things, applications242 and/or other data. For example, data storage 244 may also beemployed to store information that describes various capabilities ofmobile device 200. The information may then be provided to anotherdevice, including being sent as part of a header during a communication,sent upon request, or the like. Moreover, data storage 244 may also beemployed to store media content and/or social networking informationincluding text messages, address books, group member list, or the like.At least a portion of the media content and/or event information mayalso be stored on storage medium 266, such as a disk drive, removablestorage, or the like within mobile device 200.

Applications 242 may include computer executable instructions which,when executed by mobile device 200, provide such functions as calendars,contact managers, task managers, transcoders, database programs, wordprocessing programs, screen savers, security applications, spreadsheetprograms, games, search programs, and so forth. Applications 242 mayfurther include Message Managers (MM) 245.

MM 245 represents any of a variety of applications configured totransmit, receive, and/or otherwise process messages and other networkcontent, including, but not limited to SMS, MMS, IM, email, VOIP,browsers, or the like, and to enable telecommunication with another userof another networked device. For example, MM 245 may include any of avariety of browser applications, which may be run under control ofoperating system 241 to enable and manage requesting, receiving, andrendering markup pages such as WAP pages (sometimes referred to as WAPcards), SMGL, HTML, HDML, WML, WMLScript, JavaScript, and the like.

MM 245 may further include an IM application that is configured toinitiate and otherwise manage an instant messaging session, including,but not limited to AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, .NETMessenger Server, ICQ, and the like. In one embodiment, the IMapplication within MM 245 may be configured to employ a SIP/RTP tointegrate IM/VOIP features. For example, the IM application may employSIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leverage), APEX(Application Exchange), Prim (Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol),Open XML-based XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), morecommonly known as Jabber and OMA (Open Mobile Alliance)'s IMPS (InstantMessaging and Presence Service) created specifically for mobile devices,or the like.

MM 245 may also include text messaging application(s) that enablesclient device 200 to receive and/or send text messages to anotherdevice. In one embodiment, the text messaging application(s) may alsoprovide an alerting mechanism that indicates to a user of client device200 when a text message is received. The text messaging application(s)may also allow the user to compose a text response message, and to sendthe text response message over a network. The text messagingapplication(s) may operate to manage SMS text messages, MMS messages,Enhanced Message Service (EMS) messages, or the like, where graphics,video clips, sound files, or other media content may be communicatedbetween client device 200 and another networked device.

In any event, any one or more of the messaging applications within MM245 may be employed to enable a user of client device 200 to create agroup with members for an event, to share media content, and othermessages with members of the group, add to access media content or thelike, from another networked device, such as a website, server, or thelike. In one embodiment, MM 245 may enable a user to send SMS messages,and/or send/receive MMS messages, where the messages may include mediacontent, a link to a remote server where the media content is stored, orthe like.

In one embodiment, MM 245 may enable a user to select a namespace ID foranother user who is a member of the user's social network. MM 245 mayreceive a list of member distinctions for the members in the user'ssocial network who are associated with the namespace ID. MM 245 mayenable the user to select one of the members from the list to begin aninteraction with, using a pull-down list, checkbox list, selection list,or the like. MM 245 may employ interfaces such as those described belowin conjunction with FIGS. 6-10 to perform at least some of its actions.

Illustrative Server Environment

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a network device, according to oneembodiment of the invention. Network device 300 may include many morecomponents than those shown. The components shown, however, aresufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing theinvention. Network device 300 may represent, for example, ENS 106 ofFIG. 1.

Network device 300 includes processing unit 312, video display adapter314, and a mass memory, all in communication with each other via bus322. The mass memory generally includes RAM 316, ROM 332, and one ormore permanent mass storage devices, such as hard disk drive 328, tapedrive, optical drive, and/or floppy disk drive. The mass memory storesoperating system 320 for controlling the operation of network device300. Any general-purpose operating system may be employed. Basicinput/output system (“BIOS”) 318 is also provided for controlling thelow-level operation of network device 300. As illustrated in FIG. 3,network device 300 also can communicate with the Internet, or some othercommunications network, via network interface unit 310, which isconstructed for use with various communication protocols including theTCP/IP protocol. Network interface unit 310 is sometimes known as atransceiver, transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC).

The mass memory as described above illustrates another type ofcomputer-readable media, namely computer storage media. Computer storagemedia may include volatile, nonvolatile, removable, and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage mediainclude RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by a computing device.

The mass memory also stores program code and data. One or moreapplications 350 are loaded into mass memory and run on operating system320. Examples of application programs may include transcoders,schedulers, calendars, database programs, word processing programs, HTTPprograms (including XmlHTTPRequest (XHR), Asynchronous JavaScript andXML (AJAX), or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) programs), customizableuser interface programs, IPSec applications, encryption programs,security programs, account management, and so forth. Event Manager (EM)355 and/or Message Servers 354 may also be included as applicationprograms within applications 350.

Event Data Store (EDS) 352 stores a plurality of received media content.In one embodiment, EDS 352 may be a database, a file structure, or thelike. EDS 352 may store event characteristics, including a time of anevent, a location of an event, an amount of activity during the event,media content associated with the event, or the like. EDS 352 may alsostore unique IDs for all users associated with an event, or the like.

Message server(s) 354 include virtually any communication server thatmay be configured to enable communications between networked devices,including email servers, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) servers,Short Message Peer-to-Peer Protocol (SMPP) servers, SMS servers, varioustext messaging servers, VOIP servers, IM servers, MMS servers, RSSservers, audio servers, web servers, or the like. Message server(s) 354may employ EDS 352 to store or otherwise manage media content that maybe communicated over a network. In one embodiment, various messageserver(s) 354 may receive a message from one network device, and, inconjunction with Event Manager (EM) 355, employ information about groupmembership to store, and/or share the media content to other membersover the network. In one embodiment, message server(s) 354, inconjunction with EM 355, store received media content for a group,within EDS 352.

EM 355 is configured to manage events. As such, EM 355 may receive frommessage server(s) 354 a request for creation, deletion, or modificationof a group for an event. EM 355 may employ EDS 352, to create andotherwise manage the membership to the group. EM 355 may further employvarious message server(s) 354 to send a message to the members of thegroup indicating that they are a member to the group.

While message server(s) 354 may be configured to manage and enablesharing of messages, including messages having media content, EM 355 mayemploy the messages, and related information to determine implicitinformation about an event. Thus, EM 355 may determine start times, endtimes, locations of an event, or the like. EM 355 may, in oneembodiment, enable the implicit information to be accessed using atleast one of the message server(s) 354. Furthermore, EM 355 may providea user interface for use, in conjunction with various message server(s)354 to annotate an event, and/or media content within an event at awebsite, or other location. EM 355 may store the derived implicit orreceived information as event characteristics in EDS 353, or the like.

Namespace Manager (NM) 353 is configured to store information associatedwith the social networks of users. In one embodiment, NM 353 may storethe social networks as a tree, a graph, a database, a file structure, orthe like. The social networks may include members indexed by a namespaceID and/or a unique ID, or the like. In one embodiment, NM 353 maydetermine relationship information between members (e.g. users) of agroup associated with an event. NM 353 may receive membershipinformation for the group from EM 355. In one embodiment, for a memberin the group, NM 353 may select the member's social network. NM 353 mayadd at least one member of the group to the selected social network.Thereby, NM 353 may modify (e.g. expand) the user's social network.

In one embodiment, NM 353 may map a unique ID associated with a user toa namespace ID that may not be unique. In this way, NM 353 may determinea plurality of unique IDs associated with a possibly non-uniquenamespace IDs. For at least one of the plurality of unique IDs, NM 353may determine member distinctions such as identification information.Such identification information may include a name (e.g. user name,first name, last name), a phone number, a network address, or the like.

NM 353 may also determine member distinctions based on eventcharacteristics stored in EDS 352. For example, NM 353 may associate auser's unique ID and/or namespace ID with an event. NM 353 may storethis association with event characteristics in EDS 352, or the like. Theevent characteristics may be indexed by the unique user ID and/ornamespace ID, for later retrieval. NM 353 may employ a process such asdescribed below in conjunction with FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B to perform atleast some of its actions.

Generalized Operation

The operation of certain aspects of the invention will now be describedwith respect to FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B. FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B provide logicalflow diagrams of certain aspects. FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flowdiagram generally showing one embodiment of a process for determining auser associated with a namespace ID. Process 400 of FIG. 4 may beimplemented, for example, within ENS 106 of FIG. 1.

Process 400 begins, after a start block, at block 412, where a user'ssocial network (USN) is determined. One embodiment of operations ofblock 412 is described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 5A.Briefly, however, the USN may be determined by being created, modified,or otherwise populated. The USN may be determined based on a contactlist of the user, an automatically created social network of the user,or the like. In one embodiment, the USN may be determined based on theuser's membership in a group (whether associated or unassociated with anevent). The group may be associated with an event and/or therelationship between the members of the group. In one embodiment, therelationship includes the user inviting the member to the event, themember inviting the user to the event, the member and the user being inthe same event, or the like.

These members are the USN's first-degree of separation members—e.g.members separated from the user by one degree of separation. In oneembodiment, the USN may also include other members who are separatedfrom the user by more than one degree of separation. For example, theother members may include those who were not in the same event as theuser, but who were in the same event with one of the first-degreemembers.

Processing next flows to block 414, where a NID of a member within theUSN is received, for enabling an operation to be performed based oninformation about the member. In one embodiment, the NID may be receivedfrom a device associated with the user, over a network connection, orthe like. Processing next flows to decision block 418.

At decision lock 418, it is determined whether the NID is included inthe USN. The NID is included in the USN if the NID is associated with amember in the USN. If the NID is not in the USN, then processing returnsto a calling process for further processing. Otherwise, processingcontinues to decision block 418.

At decision block 418, it is determined whether the NID is unique withinthe USN. In one embodiment, the NID is unique if there is only onemember in the USN associated with the NID. If it is determined that theNID is unique, then processing continues to block 426. If it isdetermined that the NID is non-unique (e.g. a plurality of memberswithin the USN is associated with the NID), then, processing continuesto block 420.

At block 420, a member distinction is determined for each of a pluralityof members in the USN who are associated with the NID. The memberdistinctions may be based in part on event characteristics. Oneembodiment of operations of block 420 is described in more detail inconjunction with FIG. 5B. Briefly, however, the member distinctionsinclude information to distinguish the members. In one embodiment, themember distinctions include member identification information, a commonfriend (e.g., a person included in both the member and the user's socialnetwork), event characteristics of a common event which includes theuser and the member, an event-based unique ID associated with the memberfor the common event, or the like.

Processing next flows to block 422 where the member distinctions aresent to the user for the user to make a selection of the member. In oneembodiment, the member distinctions are sent over a network, and to adevice associated with the user. In one embodiment, the user may selectone of the members associated with one of the member distinctions.

Processing next flows to block 424, where based on the selection,information about a selected member is received. In one embodiment, theinformation about the selected member may include a unique ID, address(e.g. SMS, IM, email), or the like, associated with the selected memberand included within the selection. Processing next continues to block426.

At block 426, an operation is enabled to be performed based oninformation about the selected member. The operation may includeenabling a communication between the user and the selected member orotherwise addressing the selected member, adding the selected member toan event that is associated with the user, providing information to theuser about the selected member, or virtually any operation that may beperformed on, with, or to the selected member based on the informationabout the selected member. Communications between the user and selectedmember include sending IM, SMS, email messages, or the like.

Processing next flows to block 428. Block 428 may be optional and may beperformed in the case where the enabled operation is a communication. Atblock 428, the selected member (e.g. receiver) may filter or even blockcommunications from the user (e.g. the sender). In one embodiment, amessage from the sender may be sent over an associated mode ofcommunication, if the receiver has associated the sender with theassociated mode of communication. In one embodiment, the message may besent over the receiver's preferred mode of communication, if the senderis un-associated with the associated mode of communication. Thepreferred mode of communication may be determined by the receiver (e.g.concurrently with the message being received or even before the messagehas been received). In one embodiment, the preferred mode ofcommunication may be determined to be specific for a sender of amessage. Processing then returns to a calling process for furtherprocessing.

FIG. 5A illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for determining characteristics of an event andfor determining a social network of a member associated with the event.Process 500A of FIG. 5A may be implemented, for example, within ENS 106of FIG. 1.

Process 500A begins, after a start block, at decision block 502, where arequest to add a member to a group associated with an event is received.Processing next continues to decision block 504.

At decision block 504, it is determined whether the member's NID isunique within the group. The member's NID is unique if other members ofthe group are not associated with the same NID. If the member's NID isunique, then processing flows to block 508. If the member's NID is notunique, then processing flows to block 506.

At block 506, an event-based unique user ID is created for the user.Such event-based unique user ID may be created by appending a uniqueportion to the NID. The unique portion may include a number, acharacter, a symbol, or the like. Processing then flows to block 508.

At block 508, the NID or the event-based unique user ID are stored as acharacteristic of the event. The stored NID or stored event-based ID maybe used to distinguish members of the group in subsequent operations,such as in determining member distinctions, or the like.

Processing continues to block 510, where the member's NID is added to asocial network of another member of the group. Processing then continuesto block 512, where the other member's NID is added to the member'ssocial network. The social networks determined at blocks 510 and 512 maybe the same as the USN determined at block 412 of FIG. 4.

Processing then continues to block 514, where the member is added to thegroup associated with the event. Thus, the member becomes included inthe event, and may be enabled to participate in communicating andsharing text/media messages between members of the group. Processingthen returns to a calling process for further processing.

FIG. 5B illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for determining member distinctions for membersassociated with a namespace ID. Process 500B of FIG. 5B may beimplemented, for example, within ENS 106 of FIG. 1.

Process 500B begins, after a start block, at decision block 532, where alist of members associated with a NID is determined, wherein the membersare selected from a USN/social network of a user. Processing nextcontinues to block 504.

At block 534, a member who is already in a group associated with acurrent event is removed from the list. The current event may be anevent created by the user, associated with the user, or the like. In oneembodiment, the member is determined to be in the group based on adatabase operation, a matching of uniquely identifying information (e.g.a unique ID) associated with the member and another member in the group,or the like. If the member is determined to be in the group, then themember is removed from the list.

Processing next continues to block 536, where the list is ordered basedon a history of activity between a particular member and the user. Inone embodiment, the history of activity may be an activity valuerepresenting an amount of messages exchanged between the particularmember and the user, an amount of times the particular member and theuser have been in the same event, or the like. In one embodiment, thelist may be sorted from highest activity value to lowest activity value.

Processing next continues to block 538, where identification informationfor a particular member is determined. Identification information mayinclude a name, birth date, social security number, mother's maidenname, address, a portion of a phone number, or the like.

Processing next continues to block 540, where a common member from theUSN and from a particular member's social network is determined. Thecommon member may be determined by taking an intersection of the USN andthe particular member's social network. The common member may representa common friend, acquaintance, co-worker, or the like.

Processing next continues to block 542, where an event characteristic ofa pervious event is determined, wherein the pervious event includes aparticular member and the user. In one embodiment, the previous event isassociated with a group that includes the particular member and theuser. In one embodiment, the previous event may be the most recent eventattended by both the particular member and the user. The eventcharacteristic may include a time of the event, a name of the event, alocation of the event, a content media shared during the event, or thelike. In one embodiment, the event characteristic may be based onimplicit information determined from activity within the event, such asa flow of media content sent between members, a text message sentbetween members, or the like. In one embodiment, the eventcharacteristic may include an event-based unique ID associated with aparticular member for the previous event.

Processing next continues to block 544, where member distinctions aredetermined for each member in the list. The member distinctions mayinclude any combinations of identification information, a common member,and/or event characteristics. In one embodiment, common informationshared between a plurality of member distinctions may be removed. In oneembodiment, such shared common information may include the same firstname, the same event characteristics, the same time the plurality ofmembers met the user, or the like. Thus, the member distinctions provideinformation for the user to distinguish/disambiguate the members fromeach other. Processing then returns to a calling process for furtherprocessing.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support combinationsof means for performing the specified actions, combinations of steps forperforming the specified actions and program instruction means forperforming the specified actions. It will also be understood that eachblock of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems which perform the specified actions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Illustrative Use Cases

FIGS. 6-7 shows embodiments of use case examples illustrating theoperations of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of ause case illustrating enabling an operation to be performed on, with, orto a member of a social network associated with a namespace ID based oninformation about the member. While example 600 shows the action to beperformed on, with, or to the selected member as adding the member to anevent, any other action may be enabled, such as enabling an SMS, email,or IM communication between the user and the selected member, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

Interface 601 of example 600 illustrates that, in one embodiment, amessage to create an event may be sent to an event/name space server(ENS) such as ENS 106 of FIG. 1, or the like. The message may, in oneembodiment, employ SMS, however, the invention is not so limited, andany of a variety of communication message services may also be employed.As shown, at interface 601, the user may request a “new” event to becreated by the name “partygroup.” The user may then be added to the“partygroup” event. After receiving the request to create the event, theENS may determine the user's social network (USN), similar to theprocess described in block 412 of FIG. 4.

At interface 602, the user receives an instruction on how to add othermembers to the group associated with the event.

At interface 603, the user adds a member associated with the phonenumber “4155551234,” and another member associated with the NID “John.”As shown, the NID “John” may be associated with more than one member ofthe USN. Interface 603 illustrates an embodiment of a possiblecommunication from a user that might transpire during block 414 of FIG.4. After receiving the NID “John,” the ENS may determine whether the NIDis unique within the USN associated with the user, as described inblocks 416, and 418 of FIG. 4. The ENS may determine member distinctions611-613 and may send member distinctions 611-613 to the user, asdescribed in blocks 420 and 422. The member distinctions may also bedetermined by process 500B of FIG. 5, as described above.

Interface 604 shows a display of the received member distinctions611-613. As shown, the temporary unique ID “John1” and “John2,”associated with the event “Dinner” are included in the memberdistinctions. Also, other event characteristics, including the name ofthe event (“Dinner”) and the time of the event (“Aug. 10, 2006”) areincluded. Identification information (e.g. the name “J. Doe”) for“John2” are also included. A common friend, “Matt” is also included.Interface 604 enables the user to select one of the members associatedwith one of the member distinctions 611-613.

Interface 605 shows the user making the selection (e.g. “1”) for one ofthe members based on the member distinctions 611-613. The selection issent to the ENS for further processing. For example, ENS may performblocks 424, 426, and/or 428 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows one embodiment of another use case illustrating enabling anoperation to be performed on, with, or to a member of a social networkassociated with a namespace ID based on information about the member.Example 700 of FIG. 7 is a continuation of example 600 of FIG. 6.

Interface 701 shows the user adding a member associated with the NID“John.” The NID “John” might be sent to an ENS. In response, the ENSreplies with member distinctions 721-722.

Interface 702 shows a display of member distinctions 721-722 to enablethe user to select a member. Member distinctions 721-722 are differentfrom member distinctions 611-613 of FIG. 6 because the member associatedwith “John from Bookclub, Matt's friend” is already associated thecurrent event. Thus the member distinction associated with this memberhas been removed from member distinctions 721-722.

Interface 703 shows the user making the selection (e.g. “2”) for one ofthe members based on the member distinctions 721-722. As shown, anotheruser associated with the namespace ID “John” is added to the groupassociated with the event.

Interface 706 shows two members, “John1” and “John2,” of the groupassociated with the event “partygroup.” The two members shares the samenamespace ID, “John.” “John1” and “John2” are two event-based unique IDsfor the event. Unique portions of the IDs (e.g. “1” and “2”) areappended to the namespace ID to generate event-based unique IDs. Also,interface 702 shows determined event characteristics, including starttime 706, end time 707, location 708, and shared media associated withthe event.

Illustrative User Interfaces

FIGS. 8-10 show embodiments of user interfaces for managing events andinteractions between users associated with namespace IDs. A clientdevice, such as client device 101 of FIG. 1, respectively, may enableuser interfaces 800, 900 and 1000 of FIGS. 8, 9, and 10.

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of a user interface for identifying usersassociated with namespace IDs. Display 800 shows a user creating anevent associated with title 802-“Drinks Tonight.” The user's socialnetwork includes at least two members 812-813 associated with the samenamespace ID—“Ellen.” The group associated with the event also includesthe members 812-813. Two temporary unique IDs 822-823 (“Ellen1” and“Ellen2”) are associated with the members and the group/event. Drop-downlist 804 shows a mechanism for enabling a communication with anotheruser.

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing andsharing media between users associated with namespace IDs. Display 900shows a history of activity associated with the event having title902—“Drinks Tonight.” Members 912-913 have been assigned temporaryunique IDs for this event, as described above. Shared content 923 isassociated with member 912. Shared content 924 is associated with member913. Shared messages 920 show a history of activity between participantsin the event. Thus, shared messages 920, the temporary unique IDs formembers 912-913, and/or other information shown on display 900 may beused to determine the event characteristics of this event. Display 900also shows preferred mode of communication 904 used to contact the user.As shown, the user has identified “mobile phone via SMS” as thepreferred mode of communication.

FIG. 10 shows one embodiment of a user interface for reviewing mediashared by users associated with namespace IDs. Display 1000 shows ahistory of events associated with a user. For example, events 1021-1022are displayed. Phone numbers 1002-1003 are associated with the user.Emails 1004-1005 are also associated with the user. In one embodiment,the user may associate a mode of communication with a member of theuser's social network. For example, the associated mode of communicationmay be one of phone numbers 1002-1003 and/or one of emails 1004-1005.Also shown, members 1012-1013 of the user's social network aredisplayed. Members 1012-1013 share the same namespace ID.

The above specification, examples, and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by aprocessor, an identifier that is associated with at least one member ina social network of a user and is non-unique within the social network;determining, by the processor, a plurality of member distinctions foreach member associated with the determined identifier, the plurality ofmember distinctions based in part on an event characteristic of an eventthat involves a previously attended social gathering of at least onemember in the social network and the user and is associated with anevent group created specifically for the event, the event characteristiccomprising a time that the previously attended social gathering occurredand a location at which the previously attended social gatheringoccurred, the event characteristic including an event-based uniqueidentifier (ID) associated with the selected member; receiving, by theprocessor from the user, selection of a member associated with thedetermined identifier based at least on the member distinctions; andperforming, by the processor, an operation based on information aboutthe selected member that is based on the member distinctions.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein determining the member distinctions furthercomprises determining, for each member of the plurality of members, atleast one of: a number of communications with the user and a commonmember within the social network of the user and within a social networkof the each member.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining the social network of the user based on a relationshipbetween members of an event, wherein the event includes the user.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the user receives the member distinctions andsends the selection of the member using a mobile device.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein performing the operation based on the informationfurther comprises sending a message from the user over the selectedmember's preferred mode of communication.
 6. A network devicecomprising: a transceiver to send and receive data over a network; and aprocessor that is configured to execute instructions, comprising:determining an identifier that is associated with at least one member ina social network of a user and is non-unique within the social network;determining a plurality of member distinctions for each memberassociated with the determined identifier, the plurality of memberdistinctions based in part on an event characteristic of an event thatinvolves a previously attended social gathering of at least one memberin the social network and the user and is associated with an event groupcreated specifically for the event, the event characteristic comprisinga time that the previously attended social gathering occurred and alocation at which the previously attended social gathering occurred, theevent characteristic including an event-based unique identifier (ID)associated with the selected member; receiving, from the user, selectionof a member associated with the determined identifier based at least onthe member distinctions; and performing an operation based oninformation about the selected member that is based on the memberdistinctions.
 7. The network device of claim 6, wherein determining themember distinctions comprises determining, for each member of theplurality of members, at least one of: a number of communications withthe user and a common member within the social network of the user,wherein the common member is included within a social network of theeach member.
 8. The network device of claim 6, wherein the operationfurther comprises: receiving information about the selected member basedon the plurality of members distinctions; enabling the user to addressthe selected member based on the received information about the selectedmember; enabling the user to send a group message, wherein the selectedmember is at least one of recipient of the group message; enabling amessage from the user to be sent directly to the selected member over apreferred mode of communication; and enabling information about the userto be sent to the selected member.
 9. A system comprising: a processor;a storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic forexecution by the processor, the stored program logic comprising:identifier determining logic executed by the processor for determiningan identifier that is associated with at least one member in a socialnetwork of a user and is non-unique within the social network; memberdistinction determining logic executed by the processor for determininga plurality of member distinctions for each member associated with thedetermined identifier, the plurality of member distinctions based inpart on an event characteristic of an event that involves a previouslyattended social gathering of at least one member in the social networkand the user and is associated with an event group created specificallyfor the event, the event characteristic comprising a time that thepreviously attended social gathering occurred and a location at whichthe previously attended social gathering occurred, the eventcharacteristic including an event-based unique identifier (ID)associated with the selected member; selecting logic executed by theprocessor for receiving, from the user, selection of a member associatedwith the determined identifier based at least on the memberdistinctions; and performing logic executed by the processor forperforming an operation based on information that is based on the memberdistinctions about the selected member.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the member distinction determining logic comprises logicexecuted by the processor for determining, for each member of socialnetwork, at least one of: a number of communications with the user and acommon member within the social network of the user and within a socialnetwork of each member.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the selectionincludes a unique identifier (ID) associated with the selected member.12. The system of claim 9, further comprising communicating logicexecuted by the processor for enabling a communication between the userand the selected member based on the information about the selectedmember.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingprocessor executable instructions for managing a communication over anetwork, the processor executable instructions configured to enable aprocessor to execute instructions, comprising: determining, by theprocessor, an identifier that is associated with at least one member ina social network of a user and is non-unique within the social network;determining, by the processor, a plurality of member distinctions foreach member associated with the determined identifier, the plurality ofmember distinctions based in part on an event characteristic of an eventthat involves a previously attended social gathering of at least onemember in the social network and the user and is associated with anevent group created specifically for the event, the event characteristiccomprising a time that the previously attended social gathering occurredand a location at which the previously attended social gatheringoccurred, the event characteristic including an event-based uniqueidentifier (ID) associated with the selected member; receiving, by theprocessor from the user, selection of a member associated with thedetermined identifier based at least on the member distinctions; andperforming, by the processor, an operation based on information aboutthe selected member that is based on the member distinctions.
 14. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, furthercomprising other processor executable instructions configured to enablethe processor to execute instructions comprising: determining the socialnetwork of the user based on a relationship between members of an event,wherein the event includes the user.
 15. A non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the user receives themember distinctions, and provides the selection of the member using amobile device.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 13, wherein enabling the operation to be performed based oninformation further comprises: sending a message from the user over anassociated mode of communication, if the user is associated with theassociated mode of communication for the selected member; and sending amessage from the user over the selected member's preferred mode ofcommunication, if the user is un-associated with the associated mode ofcommunication.
 17. A mobile device comprising: a transceiver to send andreceive data over a network; and a processor that is operative toexecute instructions, comprising: determining an identifier that isassociated with at least one member in a social network of a user and isnon-unique within the social network; determining a plurality of memberdistinctions for each member associated with the determined identifier,the plurality of member distinctions based in part on an eventcharacteristic of an event that involves a previously attended socialgathering of at least one member in the social network and the user andis associated with an event group created specifically for the event,the event characteristic comprising a time that the previously attendedsocial gathering occurred and a location at which the previouslyattended social gathering occurred, the event characteristic includingan event-based unique identifier (ID) associated with the selectedmember; receiving, from the user, selection of a member associated withthe determined identifier based at least on the member distinctions; andperforming an operation based on information about the selected memberthat is based on the member distinctions.
 18. The mobile device of claim17, wherein the plurality of member distinctions is determined based onat least one of: an amount of communication with the user and a commonmember within the social network of the user and within a social networkof the each member.
 19. The mobile device of claim 17, wherein theoperation includes a communication of an instant message (IM) message,an email message, or a short message service (SMS) message.